Conventional bakery products such as breads are made using yeast. As regards to bread, it is believed that yeast serves the important functions of providing loaf volume, crumb texture, and contributes significantly to the flavor. Another benefit from the use of yeast is lowered pH, which increases the shelf life of the bread. The leavening action of yeast depends upon (i) the ability of yeast to generate carbon dioxide and alcohol by breaking down fermentable sugars and upon (ii) the unique ability of the dough matrix to retain the evolved gases.
Consistent quality bakery products are desired. Accordingly, it is desirable to be able to produce consistent bakery products by not utilizing yeast. Productivity in the baking industry would be improved with (i) the elimination of fermentation and (ii) a reduction of proofing times. Thus far, yeast leavened bakery products, of which bread is the largest category, have not been successfully duplicated in a manner that is commercially viable through the use of chemical leavening agents to replace yeast.
Chemical leaveners such as baking powders are presently used without yeast in cakes, muffins, cookies and the like. Generally such conventional chemically leavened products are not made by fermentation and rely on both chemical leavening systems and leavening in the form of air whipped into the batter.
Present baking powders comprise a mixture of sodium bicarbonate or other carbonate source, one or more acid ingredients, and one or more inert ingredients such as starch. A common household baking powder contains sodium aluminum sulfate (SAS or sodium alum), and monocalcium phosphate monohydrate (MCP) to form a so-called "double-acting" type baking powder. The MCP is believed needed to preform the gas cells (i.e., nucleation in the dough or batter). Other double-action type baking powders include but are not limited to combinations of sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAPP), sodium aluminum phosphate (SALP), and MCP.
U.S. patents have issued which relate to leavening systems, doughs, bread and bread making. Such patents show a continuing effort to develop enhanced leavening systems, doughs and breads and enhanced bread making processes. In particular efforts appear to have focused on developing enhanced chemical leavening systems, products made therefrom and enhanced chemically leavened bread making processes. Some of these patents are mentioned below.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,816 which issued Oct. 12, 1842 to Abel Conant relates to a chemical leavening system in a dough wherein tartaric acid, cream of tartar, citric acid, alum, or any other known acid, in a dry state, or any compound of acids, or any compound of which acid or acids are the principal ingredients, in a dry state, whereby the process of this patent comprises mixing the dry acid or acids or the dry compound, in a dry state, with dry flour; and in dissolving saleratus or other alkali in a sufficient quantity of pure water, sweet milk, or other liquid to neutralize the acids in the flour, and make it into dough.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,418 which issued May 1, 1849 to Henry Jones, discloses that fine quality wheat (or other grain from which the flour to be prepared is made) is added to tartaric acid. This is mixed well with the flour and both are passed through a flour dressing machine and allowed to remain untouched for 2-3 days. Afterward the flour and acid are mixed with bicarbonate of soda (or bicarbonate of potassa) in fine powder, muriate of soda, loaf-sugar in fine powder and the whole is thoroughly mixed together and then put through a flour dressing machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,031 which issued to John H. Moriarty et al. on Oct. 23, 1962, discloses a chemically leavened bread making process using components including an amino acid, sugar based flavor, a GDL and sodium bicarbonate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,314 which issued to Thomas P. Kichline et al. on Mar. 17, 1970, describes a leavening acid which is an alkali metal aluminum acid phosphate (e.g., SALP).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,151 which issued to Robert E. Benjamin on Apr. 7, 1981, describes a leavening agent formed from acidic sodium aluminum phosphate in the presence of water and a binder.
GDL was disclosed along with sodium hydrogen carbonate in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,907 which issued to Toshiaki Furuhashi on May 3, 1988, as ingredients for a multilayer dough system that reportedly keeps the acid and the base separate during mixing and forming. The combination is reportedly reacted in the can.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,096,178, which issued to James W. Tucker on Jul. 2, 1963, ('178 patent) describes a chemically leavened yeast dough in which sodium aluminum phosphate is used with bicarbonate of soda. The '178 patent describes how the sodium aluminum phosphate can be used in excess and how this reportedly imparts desirable characteristics to the yeast bread dough. However contrary to the present invention, this '178 patent utilizes yeast. The '178 patent also describes how proofing can be done at ambient temperature or at an elevated temperature, e.g. 150.degree. F.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,795, which issued to Arlee A. Andre on Feb. 23, 1965, ('795 patent) discloses dry mixtures used to produce chemically leavened baked goods, made without yeast, requiring a high-protein flour (having a protein content of at least 18% as measured by the Kjeldahl method) and glucono-.delta.-lactone (GDL) as the primary leavening acid. The '795 patent describes how optionally a mixture of glucono-.delta.-lactone (slow-acting acidic leavening agent) with a lesser amount (up to one-third the level of glucono-.delta.-lactone) of a fast-acting acidic leavening agent including sodium aluminum phosphate can be used. Example 1, of this '795 patent discloses that ingredients are first mixed before the dough is formed by the moisturization of dry ingredients. Optionally, the leavening agents are added late in the mixing cycle of dry ingredients, if a fast-acting acidic agent is used, to preclude as much as possible any premature reaction. This '795 patent does not teach or suggest the importance of any particular order of addition of the bicarbonate during the dough mixing cycle as the inventors have discovered.
Research has been published related to chemically leavened bread. Holmes and Hoseney in two articles (1987, Cereal Chemistry, 64(5):343-348, and 348-351), reported having studied the effect of salts on dough mixing properties and final bread volumes in the first article. According to Holmes and Hoseney, when SALP or MCP were added with yeast, loaf volume decreased compared to yeast alone. The amount of total salt in the loaf as well as the types of ions present were found to be important. The second article dealt with frozen dough. Equal amount of soda and SAS were reportedly added, along with yeast, but this did not benefit loaf volume.
WO 98/14064 and WO 98/14065 each having a Apr. 9, 1998 publication date and each titled Method of Preparing Dough relate to methods of preparing dough compositions and a dough composition formulated from two separate batters. Neither of these published PCT patent applications teach or suggest applicants' invention.
No references appear to disclose or suggest the dough formulation or the particular process of this invention including the chemically leavened bread or the chemically leavened dough of the present invention. Thus despite the past effort in this area to develop enhanced chemical leavening systems, enhanced chemically leavened bread and enhanced chemically leavened dough, there is still a strong continuing need for such enhanced chemical leavening systems which would provide the characteristics of bread prepared from yeast including a reduction in fermentation times and maintain an acceptable desired loaf volume.